I enjoyed both the Hobbit & LotR books and by no means am an expert on the content or lore.

However, Wikipedia lists Saruman, Galadriel & Radaghast as characters in the upcoming films. I do not recall any of them being in the Hobbit, or am I forgetting?

I expect they are trying to tie it in with the LotR films, which I understand is the price for a film adaptation. Hopefully it won't be some tedious love story a la Aragorn-Arwen as in Return of the King, maybe something about Saruman's & Radaghast's unrequited love?